14-Mar-20 – There are still two towers but they are shorter and all-rental. The developer of 400 Lake Shore Drive has come back with a modified proposal for the site along the Chicago River where the Chicago Spire was going to be built.

The height of the north tower has been lowered from 1,000 to 875 feet and the south tower has been lowered from 790 to 765 feet. There will be no hotel, no four-story podium, and no condominium units. The south tower will contain 500 rental units and the north tower will contain 600 rental units.

42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly called the changes, unveiled by Related Midwest on March 10, “significant” compared to a previous design in May 2018.

The project includes development on both sides of Lake Shore Drive. A 19-to-26-foot-wide walkway along the Chicago River, with more security cameras and lighting, will pass under Lake Shore Drive and connect to a 3.3-acre DuSable Park, which Related Midwest says they will complete, contributing $10 million of their own money.

(Left) Imagined aerial view of Lake Shore Drive with 400 Lake Shore Drive on the left and a completed DuSable Park on the right.

“The presentation offered significant changes and improvements compared to the previous proposal that did not advance in 2018,” wrote Reilly in his newsletter on Friday. “The development team provided solutions to address concerns about the hotel use, tall podium base of the buildings, traffic concerns for East North Water Street, and security issues on the Riverwalk and at DuSable Park.”

The March 10 meeting was co-hosted by Reilly and Streeterville Organization of Active Residents.